Beneath Eternal
by Neku.GrandChase
Summary: ShounenAI RiSo, AkuRoku, ReKurao/SeKurao, Zemyx and a whole lotta more. It is never a good idea to play with a pack of Tarot Cards. Sora realizes this a bit too late when he gets sucked into a world warring with itself. EPIC Weekly updates
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Short, sweet and simple.

A/N: You'd never think this one would be fantasy. Believe me, I had a full plot already (involving cooking), but it swerved off the road like a truck being driven by blond chickens. It's basically more on tactical war and magic now (at least until the truck hits a rushing train or something…I hope anyone gets my analogy).

Pairings: RiSoRi(that's RikuSoraRiku for the non-shipper) for the definite pairing. I'm having internal debates whether I should have AkuRoku/AkuRokuNami, SeKurao/ReKurao and the other minor pairings. –blinks- You do know Cloud's name when japanized goes like Kuraodo, right?

* * *

" I need those carrots in here NOW!"

Students around them merely shook their heads as a certain brunet's incessant shouting ringed across the Cooking Room. The brunette took a ladle, dipped it until it filled with frothy stock, and took a sip, before his thick eyelashes contorted to a displeased frown.

It wasn't good, wasn't good at all…_yet_.

"Tidus! There's not enough pepper in the stock! Add more!" Sora placed the ladle down as he went over the next person, his voice was tinted with impatience and intolerance. The mentioned blond visibly winced at the impatient tone, but coalesced and added more of the mentioned spice until the surface was swimming in flecks of black.

"Namine', slice the potatoes in uniform sizes! Make it thick!" He almost balked; a potato peel slid itself under his shoe and caused him to nearly slip before he caught himself immediately, using one skinny arm to bring himself back up the counter. He straightened himself up nonchalantly at that, and went over to his next group mate.

"A-ah! I'm sorry!" She reddened, as she took the knife and murdered the potatoes with loud, hewing sounds. A lot of the people around her backed away a few meters, hoping to put some distance between them and the dangerously-flailing knife. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Sora paid no heed to the apologies (and potatoes) flying in the air. He was over it as immediate as the incident ended.

"Vincent, are the chicken pieces sautéing in there?"

A thumbs-up came from the stolid boy. Sora grunted, tapping a finger once into the counter as if ticking off an invisible clipboard.

"Roxas, finished rubbing the herbs?"

The other brunette boy's eye twitched in annoyance, before he nodded and proceeded to dump the dried herbs into the coconut milk that was stewing in the gas stove.

* * *

Everybody in the group took a backseat as Sora took hold of the whole cooking-in of the chicken curry. Stock, cream of coconut, potatoes, carrots, and bright green Bagiou beans swirled around the bubbling, yellow green mass. The sautéed chicken was dumped, by the said boy, unto the rolling surface, teased by the steam and by the heat. Flecks of black pepper and Cayenne dotted the immaculate surface of the curry.

And for the coup de grace, a tablespoon of the finest ground coffee.

Sora was no less, the centerpiece of the cooking opera. His practiced movements as he reached every missing ingredient with ease, his hands weaving in and out of various shakers and bottles, shifting from stove to countertop, all in a matter of seconds, his concentration was unwavering and one might have thought of as foolishness in devoting to a mere dish of curry.

The concoction erupted a flare of scents, catching the attention of the other groups and even the instructor, whose petite face failed to hide the wonder and anticipation of being able to eat the Sora's chicken curry. The scent was overwhelming, _powerful_ even, like a tendril of madness rushing up through the nostrils and towards the brain, delivering a painful curry-smelling blow.

"It's done!" Sora slumped towards a seat prepared by his mates. The seriousness in his expression earlier melted away to be replaced by childhood vigor. "I bet Aerith-sensei would go off in one of her dramatic reactions once he gets a hold of our dish!!"

The group held their breaths before turning to grins of their own. Sora-senpai's smiles were very infectious, almost in retroaction to his serious and solemn façade when cooking. Sora was a jerk when he cooked, _he was a very serious and untouchable jerk _when cooking_ was _involved; but he was a very good friend outside the kitchen.

"Sora-senpai…" Tidus sighed, smacking himself upside in the head, confusing the brunette. Tidus was earlier irritated at Sora's attitude, but it seemed to have run off of him when he recognized the boy he knew to be his childhood friend (though technically, Sora was a year older). He was the most familiar to the brunette's bipolar attitude towards cooking; but he also was the most immature about it. "You know very well that Aerith-sensei has no complaints with your cooking!"

"I have no complaints here." Roxas raised an idle hand as his nose picked the curry's heavy scent. He sighed, fanning the scent more towards him. He was a laidback teen who knew how to appreciate the good things in life. One of them in near-reach, was Sora's home-cooked meals.

"Sora-senpai's cooking is the only thing I'm not lazy to get." He added, stretching his arms and limbs before slinking back to slouching in the kitchen stool.

"That's cause you always mooch off of me every morning, Roxy." Sora grinned. "The cafeteria's open at 7 in the morning, but you always insist on eating at my dormitory. Which is 2 blocks away from school."

"WHAA? Roxas – you jerk!" Tidus threw a chicken bone at the boy, half-irritated and half-playful. "I'll eat at your place tomorrow too senpai!" He grinned, his fangs glinting proudly, not wanting to be left out from the fun of eating.

"You guys!" The brunette complained, a bit distraught. "Don't run me out of town! I barely have enough food for two people – "

Vincent dropped a rather thick wad of cash beside Sora. The brunette glanced at the money before turning upwards to notice an unnatural smile in the stolid boy's lips.

"Uwaa! VINCENT!? You too!?" Sora ogled the boy's wad of cash, said boy in question walked away to get some dishes and platters for the curry.

Vincent simply nodded, he made no denial and the answer was curt and direct.

He was creepy and a bit anti-social. But friends are friends, no matter what. And he was very loyal to his friends.

"Aye! Vincent's a rich bastard! See? He prefers your cooking over his family's chef! You should feel great Sora!" Tidus patted Sora on the head. Idiotically clueless, or foolishly carefree; Tidus was rather immune to Vincent's creepy behavior.

"Uhm…" Namine' hesitantly cut in, raising her hand a bit, her tone soft enough to cause everyone to quiet down and listen. "If it's okay Sora-senpai, can I join all of you tomorrow too?" She spoke softly, twiddling her fingers over each other again and again; a grown habit ever since she became friends with Sora and the gang.

"SURE!!" Sora gave her a big thumbs up. "Vincent gave me enough to make a feast for all of you guys! You should probably thank him, not me."

"VINCENT!" Sora, Tidus, Roxas and Namine' (surprised at the group's outburst at first) faced the boy, who just returned with the plates, and bowed deeply with half-mockery and full-appreciation. "THANK YOU FOR THE MEAL!!"

Vincent smiled.

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

The club erupted in activity once Aerith-sensei had eaten Sora's curry. She had immediately ran off towards Zack-sensei's sports club and had dragged the confused teacher with him back towards her cooking club.

Sora wasn't a very proud person, but this was definitely one of this few moments he would have loved to brag about.

Zack-sensei was notorious to be very picky about what he ate. Something about being a former military officer had him paranoid eating stuff he didn't personally cook. Or that of Aerith-sensei's.

The teacher ended up asking for some to eat for his own lunch. Sora felt his heart grow big at that.

"Full marks, Sora!" Aerith-sensei marked a large A+ on his grade sheet. Their group cheered, Tidus hugging Sora, Namine' clapping, Vincent remaining impassive and Roxas smiling. Even a few others joined in to clap for them.

"I'm confident this'll stay the same until the Cultural Festival next month. This'll be the first time you're joining, so I hope we can beat the visiting school this time around." She spoke, unforgivingly affectionate and with great fondness.

She commended the group once more, then turned towards the other groups to examine their own curry dishes. Just in time too, since the bell for lunch had rang. Roxas took his own bento, empty of anything except rice. Namine' had the same for her pink bento box, while Sora, Tidus, and Vincent had their own sour flat bread in place of rice.

The friends talked while eating, as some of their other friends from other clubs joined them. Pence, a friend of Roxas, known for his voracious appetite, had immediately helped himself to the curry. Kairi, Namine''s cousin, looked embarrassed to join them but discarded her apprehensions when she started eating. Zell, a petite, blond boy and a year younger than any of them was a close friend to Tidus. The boy had the same name as Tidus's dog, and was constantly being teased by Tidus about it. Still, Sora had been a very good senpai to Zell, and even Vincent had no complaints to the boy's constant tailing, so he was able to bear with Tidus' constant teasing, even taking the boy's teasing in stride.

To Sora, this was one of those days when he could feel complete contentment. Contentment, as in that which filled his heart with warmth. Friends laughing together, talking together, sharing over good food and iced-cold tea, smiles and laughter here and there.

He looked outside the window, birds flying towards the branch of a nearby tree. Leaves in summer green, sky unmarked with white and stretching in endless blue, the incoming breeze slapping his face with remarkable heat, filling his face with young blood and making him blush. Life was good.

"Woooo! Look! Look! Sora-senpai's turning red! He's thinking of something perverted right now!" Tidus' laughter broke him off his train of thoughts, almost causing him to fall off his chair. The others simply laughed as Sora threw a ladle that expectedly bounced off of Tidus' head.

* * *

Life was good in its simple way.

* * *

It would surprise a lot of people to know that Sora was actually the leader of the ragtag group of friends. With age comes status, and because of that unwritten rule; Sora became the big brother of everyone there…even if he also was the shortest of the bunch.

This height difference caused everyone to still treat him like he was the youngest. A fact, which rather annoyed him sometimes. Tidus, usually, would be the first person to go out of whack and disrespect that unwritten rule. He rarely called Sora his senpai, but simply…Sora.

Roxas was too lazy with the honorifics, and Namine was just horrible with it. Last time Sora coaxed her to call him senpai, he spent the next hour telling her to stop. Vincent was the typical black sheep of his family, and was left behind a year. Technically, he would have been Second Year; but due to his escapades both in and out of school; he remained being in the first year. Vincent was smart, sometimes too smart, which led to his boredom and usual flights from the classroom.

* * *

Sora had spent the last minutes of his class talking to another boy about their assignment. He was just leaning on the doorframe of their room when he saw a flash of blond and a rather-too bouncy of a boy rushing towards him.

"SENPAI!! SORA-SENPAI!!" Good, thank God Tidus was addressing him that, knowing they were on the sophomore's part of the building. His colleagues are rather cruel to disrespectful underclassmen.

"Tidus?" Sora raised a brow in askance. Tidus rarely went straight to his room after classes, much less cause a ruckus in this part of the building. "Something wrong?"

The boy grinned, quelling Sora's thoughts that something bad had happened. "It's nothin' bad senpai. The gang's waiting for you at the gate though. Everyone wants to pitch in helping buy all the stuff we'll need for tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning…" Sora's mind wandered off before he realized. "AH! Cooking! I almost forgot!" Sora turned towards the boy in his class, hurriedly explaining something to him. The boy nodded, before leaving both of them in the doorframe. Sora did the same and took his bag from his chair, leaving the room and saying his goodbyes to his classmates.

"Ara…Sora-senpai, is something wrong?" Tidus asked the teen, obviously zoning out as he was staring outside the window of the hallway.

"Tennis." Sora muttered. Tidus cocked his head towards the window, curious.

True enough; outside were the tennis courts. The noisy bouncing of balls against rackets and the rowdiness of the people could be heard. Tidus found Sora pouting while looking at the people playing below.

"Didn't you like tennis back then, Sora-senpai?" Tidus inquired, lightly taking the older boy's bag off his shoulder. The brunet smiled, thanking the gesture, before turning back towards the windows. "I remember senpai would always frequent the tennis garden more than the play park with us."

"Mhm." Sora mumbled, half-answering and half-dreaming. " I was pretty good back then. When I was a kid, I had always thought tennis was nothing but fun and playing."

Tidus caught on the troubled look on his senpai's face. "What gives, Sora-senpai?"

"A year ago, I was in the tennis club, not the cooking club. They dubbed me as the 'super rookie' because I was able to beat most of my senpais back then. I had thought that maybe I had the right stuff to become a regular back then." Sora sighed deeply at the memory. "Tennis was fun for me, it will always be. But I didn't want the politics that went with actually joining the school's tennis club."

"First years will always be ball boys, no matter how good you are. I was a bit cocky back then, and was angry at that rule. So many of the first years with me were better and had more experience than the older members. Not that I was impatient waiting for a year before becoming a regular…but they liked harassing freshmen who stood out too much."

"Is that why you quit tennis?"

Sora smiled at that. "Quit? No. I still love tennis, but I've switched to cooking after that incident. The teacher likes me, and I don't think I can _and want_ to leave the club anymore. Tennis will always be first, but cooking is not that far from my heart."

"Cooking and tennis…" Tidus shook his head. "What a weird combination, senpai."

"That it is." Sora grinned, ruffling the younger boy's hair, messing it up.

They both laughed, as they disappeared in a corner of the hallway.

* * *

Shopping was pretty much uneventful.

Unless you didn't count knocking three pyramids of soup cans all over the floor, mutilating half of the produce section's vegetables into horse fodder, catching a kid shoplifter (Zell felt very proud at himself for noticing the shady boy) and finishing off almost everything in the free samples section.

Yep, pretty much uneventful.

The sun had almost set in the horizon as they saw Zell off towards the train station. Zell lived in a different part of town, unlike the group whose homes were dispersed around the school.

"Bye guys! See ya tomorrow! Tidus, call me when I get home! Remind me to bring the magazine tomorrow, kay!?" Zell yelled rather too enthusiastically before the train's doors closed. Tidus was left waving his hands with less vigor than the waves Zell gave him even as the train started moving.

"Awww, Tidy-widy. Call me when I get home pwease?" Roxas made sloppy kissy-kissy sounds, earning a few laughs from the group minus Tidus. Said blond merely took a stalk of leek from the bag he was holding and slapped it at the back of Roxas' head. Roxas rubbed the sore area. He scowled and blew Tidus a raspberry at that.

"Oh knock it off you guys." Sora chided. "Tidus, put the dangerous thing away. And Roxas, put your tongue away." He shook his head at both of their immaturity. Tough luck being the senpai of the group.

"Break it up you boys." Namine folded her hands on his hips, her earlier shyness quickly dispelled. "Especially you Roxas, you're too lazy to do anything except eat Sora's cooking and tease Tidus."

Roxas straightened at that. "…sorry, ma'am."

Sora blinked. "Wow…you got him whipped Namine'." Tidus snickered at Sora's comment, while Vincent coughed.

Namine' turned red again, however, when Sora talked. She broke down into a bundle of nerves, just like she was earlier at the club. Predictably anyway. Sora wondered why she could boss anyone around, but break down in front of him.

Too much twiddling and shuffling caused a pack of some sorts to fall out of Namine's pocket. Roughly four inches in length, three inches in width and fifteen centimeters in height (Sora had frankly no idea where he got those approximate measurements). They were wrapped in old leather, he could tell, and a simple abaca cord kept the small package intact.

"Namine'-chan?" Sora took the pack, feeling it to be suspiciously akin to cards. "What is this?"

Namine turned redder still, embarrassed by a little bit. "Special tarot cards. Uhm…I brought it from a traveling gypsy lady a few days back. She looked Chinese of some sort…"

Tidus peeked in. "Ooh, Tarot cards? Aren't those the ones used for telling the future and stuff?" The girl nodded. "Sora-senpai knows how to read Tarot?"

Sora shook his head slightly. "I'm not really good at reading the cards. I do know how to read it, but not like how you think others do."

He returned the cards to Namine'.

"Let's drop by my place. I'll explain it in a bit."

* * *

"Now let's see here…"

The group had gathered around the living room coffee table for the promised novice Tarot reading. Tidus had earlier vacated the magazines and the flowerless vase, whilst Namine was fumbling around the kitchen for some tea.

"As I said earlier, I did mention that I do know how to read cards. Unlike what you may think however, I can only use it to read people's characteristics."

"For example," Sora carefully shuffled the cards on hand, finally setting six cards down. "Let me try with myself."

"This is how I read. Three cards at the top most represent the past, present and future. Three cards at the bottom represent who we could have been but are not."

"They are buried characteristics, and may represent another side of us. You could say that having those personalities may not make you any different than who you are right now."

Sora carefully opened the left card down, earning the curious stares of everyone.

"The Past Tower. It means a revelation, a sudden change. It also means chaos in one's life."

Tidus had pointed it out immediately. "Haah!! Could the Tower symbolize what happened to your parents back then, senpai?"

Sora smiled, softly though. "It could be. Call it coincidence, but the cards were very specific not to choose Death, but rather the Tower that was struck down…The Tower with a man and a woman…September 11…"

He brushed the memory off, giving a fond smile to Tidus. "It's okay. I'm over it. What happened, happened."

Namine had cut in almost instantly though, her hands curling into a fist. "But it's rather weird senpai. You were right. It's very weird that the cards were very specific. It's rather scary."

Roxas had slid in closer to the girl, whispering it was just coincidence and other comforting words. Sora frowned at that. _Could it have been merely coincidence?_

Sora turned the second card up.

"The Present Emperor." Sora let out a relieved sigh. "It means authority. Leadership and order. A man who reigns, a man who oversees everything."

"Kind of like where we are right now, senpai?" Tidus grinned, sniggering. Vincent merely nodded and even Namine let out a chuckle. Everyone relaxed quite a bit, the mood lightening up a bit.

Sora continued laughing, as he opened the third card.

"Ugh…" Sora bit his tongue, surprised and somewhat not-expecting.

The picture was of a hooded figure with a skull in place of a face. His bony fingers pointing directly at the card holder, and at his feet were the decapitated heads of both humans and animals alike. On the scythe the figure held, was a sheath of wheat, with stalks bleeding of red blood.

"The Future…Death. Sadness…conclusion…loss. The end." Sora spoke with a resigned breath.

The others weren't as calm as Sora though. Tidus had immediately backed away, muttering 'oh shit, oh shit' several times. Namine had suddenly jumped on Roxas, who was just as surprised both at the card and at the panicky girl. The boy fell on his back, suffocating as the girl held him on a death grip.

"Na…na…mi…ne'…" He coughed, losing air by the second. The girl had realized, she immediately let go but still hid behind the blond's back, whimpering 'I'm scared-sorry -I'm scared…"

Vincent only whispered a small expletive. But that was that…Vincent never, ever cursed. This really had upset him quite a bit.

"Relax, kiddies…Death doesn't necessarily mean dying." He snorted slightly, trying to lift the grim atmosphere. "Death can mean reincarnation, rebirth. It could mean the end, yes, but not in the physical aspect. Relationships, problems…things like that."

"Nevertheless…" Sora frowned, staring at the card once more. "This card isn't usually a good sign."

Everyone backed away, with Tidus forming his fingers like a cross and directing it at Sora's consternated face.

"All right, now you guys are being silly." Sora shook his head. "I said this was for fun only, don't be too serious about what the cards are saying."

"Fun or not," Tidus cut in. "That picture of Death is scary."

"Course he is." Sora huffed, scratching his head. "You can't expect him to wear pink and give out flowers now, do you?"

He opened the next card below the Tower just to get it over with.

"The Past Sun. Energy, radiance, vigor and innocence." Sora looked taken aback. "My past life must have been a very happy and optimistic boy."

"Which is so not like you right now, senpai." Tidus snickered, still not moving in though.

Sora gave him a look of consternation, as his hands sought out the card below the Emperor.

"The Present Moon. Deception through illusion. Apprehension and conflicts in ideals. From innocence, a big responsibility. Confusion…"

"Sora-senpai thinks that the child was suddenly burdened with a great responsibility that caused confusion?" Namine asked.

Sora turned towards her. "Took the words right out of my mouth." He muttered, a bit worried. It seems he had led a hard life even before he knew it. Or might lead one. Or is already leading now. Tarot was very vague when it came to stuff like this.

"The Future Star." Sora smiled aptly, grinning upwards to face everyone. "Renewal and the end to confusion. Stability, optimism, peace and faith for a bright future. I guess everything ends well."

-

-

* * *

-

-

Since when did grass grow in his living room?

Scratch that…since when did his living room have trees and mountains in the background?

The morning sun hit his face with genuine warmth. A summer gale crept across the meadow he was sitting on, mildly moving the cards sitting on the table – no – the tree trunk. A few birds flitted by, chirping happily. The clouds moved fast in the blue sky.

He could see houses from a distance. A trail led towards a dirt road that stood out from where he was standing from. He could hear the tilling of land from the wheat field an acre away.

The trees shook gently against the wind, giving up some of its dry leaves.

There was a large bee's nest hanging on one of it's limbs.

A termite mound was beside him, standing ominously like a pinnacled castle of the earth.

He took the cards from the surface of the tree trunk, and pocketed them carefully.

Standing up, he braced himself, when a strong gust whipped his hair out of place.

His _kouhai _had disappeared, vanished from him.

Or was it that _he_ was the one who vanished before them?

"Where…"

There was a village nearby. He should probably go there and see if they have a telephone.

"Where…"

Everyone was dressed in peasant-y garb. Was this some village that cosplayed the old era for tourists?

"Where…"

A boy was looking at him from the dirt road, same blue eyes as he had. He was wearing a clumsly looking turban, but a few of his familiar, sandy blond hair still peeked out.

"Where…am I?"

No one answered.

* * *

Updates come a week or two at most. Reviews always help feed the poor.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. It is the sole ownership of the Square-Enix company (a.k.a. now referred to by fans as Squenix) and Disney Interactive. Okay, scratch that. All I know is I don't own KH. Yeah, sucks to be us.

Pairings: RiSoRi, AkuRoku, SeKurao/ReKurao and among others.

Plot: A pack of Tarot cards was all the Sora had of his home, when he found himself in a strange, new country. One that would have an immediate impact on his new life.

Warnings: Before you start reading Chapter 2, please try and use google to search for "moomba ffviii". They are Final Fantasy VIII creatures which I find very cute and very appealing. Search for an image so you can have a clear picture of what they look like.

And thank you for the review...err, yeah. Cookie for the review. XD

_Which is more true: You who were, you who are, or who you are to be?_

* * *

"Cookie?"

Sora was highly perplexed at his rather weird and awkward situation.

Wasn't he just playing with Tarot cards Namine' had a few minutes earlier? It almost seemed like he was teleported to god-knows where this place was.

It was a very rural area. Fields of meadow and rice could be seen stretching for miles. The road was hardly cemented, and meandered unnaturally by the side of the fields. Over in a distance, Sora could make out a large pylon, which looked almost like the stone version of Tokyo Tower. Hell, the wind was rather blowing too hard for Sora to hear himself think. All that whoooosh going on…

And now…

This boy, who strongly looks like Roxas (and even sounds like him), was taking a cookie from the jar he was holding and offering it to the said blond. Sora's eyes instinctively narrowed at the other 'contents' of said jar. They suspiciously looked kind of like…charcoal.

This boy was no means, a source of wonder for Sora, as well. His clothes were rather archaic and old, like that of the workers of Edo in the old days. On his feet were wooden clogs and wrappings to keep the dust off. He wore a simple workman's coat, the blue material held close in his hip by a simple belt. His blond hair was partially hidden by a clumsy turban, which failed to hide it. Snatches and slivers of hair peeked out from the coarse cloth.

Sora had traversed the distance between them earlier, while the blond waited for him; head cocked sideways in confusion. He had meant to ask if the teenager knew of a nearby telephone booth, so he could call his apartment and ask any of the guys to fetch him…wherever he was.

But the boy scuffled with the jar he was holding. All thoughts fled his mind when the Roxas-look-alike nudged the 'cookie' in his hand. A rather black, and powdery cookie.

"Cookie?" He offered once more, his voice slick with boredom and curiosity.

Sora took the blackened lump, and bit.

"BLEEH!" Sora had no idea how he made such a rather undignified sound. "That tasted horrible!"

The Roxas-look alike remained unperturbed by his adverse reaction. He turned to his side, digging something out of his pocket. He held another cookie, this one all motley and powdered with white. He offered it once more to Sora.

"Biscuit?"

Sora's eye twitched, immediately shaking his head. Roxas-look alike stared at him, before he returned the 'biscuit' back in his pocket.

"Oh. I thought you were stupid."

_He thought I was stupid?_ Sora was dumbfounded at that.

"But I thought the charcoal you gave me was a cookie."

Roxas-look alike's eyes widened. A bit surprised, and a bit amused. Skeptical, but surprised. A mixture of feelings that cannot be fully explained.

"You knew it was charcoal. You're not such an idiot. But why did you eat it?"

Sora looked around, still trying to comprehend wherever he was dropped into. He still didn't understand how all of this happened. Okay…so here he was in Farm Country, with absolutely no electric or telephone poles in sight…a country boy is offering me charcoal for cookies and…what else?

"So…" The boy prodded him with his unanswered question.

Sora answered silkily. "I've seen lots of different types of food. I just took the chance of trying out if charcoal here is different from charcoal back home."

_Well, at least one of us has to be mature about it._

The boy cocked his head in another side, catching on the air of maturity Sora was trying (keyword: trying) to exude.

"You eat charcoal back in your home?"

Sora stared with pity and horror at the same time.

"No. I didn't say that."

…

"Oh." The boy looked taken aback. But he nodded, and turned away from Sora, apparently intent on setting out once more into the road.

"Wait! Do you know where I can find a telephone booth? I need to call home." Sora called out after him. The situation of him being lost was starting to catch up on him.

Roxas-look alike turned around.

"Home? Where is your home?"

"Tokyo…Japan…"

The boy was genuinely confused; his blue eyes reflected his inability to understand the name.

"Where's that? Is it there?"

Sora scratched his head. Okay, this was starting to sound not-like a dream he was hoping it would be.

"This Japan home…it's there, right? We are here, so your home must be there." Roxas-look alike sounded confident with his stick-thin logic.

"Where is there?" Sora asked, hoping that confidence wasn't a blind one.

"Japan is there."

"How do you know?"

"Your home is certainly not here. Then it should be there."

_Oh great. Someone get me a degree in Philosophy. _Sora rolled his eyes on cue.

"But where is there?"

"Japan is there."

Sora could feel the onset of a migraine fast approaching.

"Okay…okay. But where is here?"

Roxas-look alike stared at him, baffled. A frown was starting to evidently form in his face.

"Nuremberg."

Sora summoned all his will to remember such a place in the world map. Nuremberg…Nuremberg…that sounds awfully like some place in Germany…

"Are we in Germany?"

Roxas-look alike looked rather tired.

"No, I told you. Here is Nuremberg. Germany is there. You foreigners are stupid."

Sora was confused once more. He hadn't noticed a milkmaid coming up the road, leading a herd of goats to a pasture, no doubt. Well that woman was wearing something akin to that of Swiss milkmaids…

"But you're Japanese! Your accent and sentences are perfect!" Sora pointed out, rather perplex.

"I don't speak your tongue! You're the one speaking my language!"

The milkmaid noticed the confusion, and approached the two young men with courtesy. She looked too modest to be one though. She had blond curly hair in a ponytail, and she looked rather young though like a mother.

_"fjatA hmaro akdfha_?" The woman spoke kindly, smiling at both of them.

_Eh…what?_

Sora turned to Roxas-look alike, who immediately addressed her.

"_Yagjke eoqptn mfetpaf_." He pointed at Sora. "_Epnagi eornl amfigpa angodpdf eitangff_!"

The milkmaid was slightly troubled, and turned towards Sora.

"Can you please answer his question?" She spoke gently.

"Huh?" Sora took a step back, when the woman's voice suddenly spoke Japanese once more. "I understand what you're trying to say, but…I didn't know what you two talked about earlier. Your Japanese is quite impeccable though."

"Ara?" The woman blushed, before turning towards the other boy smiling. " Fwer yonaflag oenflah eiryfa."

The boy turned back towards Sora again. "What do you mean Japanese? You speak like we do."

He cupped his hands near Sora's ears, and spoke full volume.

**"DO-YOU-UNDERSTAND-ME-NOW?!"**

Sora frowned at him, glaring somewhat annoyed. "Of course, I do. I told you, you're speaking Japanese." God, that would have shaken his earwax off or something. Sora had the impulse to clean his ears out with his pinkie.

"Uhm…"

Sora turned towards the woman, who made the small sound.

"Excuse me, but what language was that? The one you were talking to Roxas with?"

"Roxas?" He pointed at the other boy. "His name is Roxas?" He was rather surprised, asking him directly. "You're Roxas?"

'Roxas' glared at him. "There you go again. You're speaking half-gibberish. Smarty-pants. Just because you know our language and we don't, doesn't make you the better one of us."

Will you look at that? He even pouts like Roxas.

Sora rubbed his temples now, more confused and annoyed than ever. The odds that he might be…or rather is, stuck in a parallel dimension where everyone he knew would certainly be there, just not the same person that he knew back home was certainly stacking against him.

"Listen…kid." Roxas' eye twitched at that. "I'm not talking your language. You're the ones talking to me in Japanese."

Roxas pouted, and carefully conversed with the milkmaid again. _In their own frikkin language_._'_ Sora could not explain what was happening right now.

"So much for writing my life story. It's probably going to get dumped into the fiction section." He groaned.

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

Sora had never found his way back.

No one knew what a telephone was. What an airplane was. Where Japan was or even what it was!

It was almost like he was in another world!

But that can't be entirely true, Sora knew. Nuremberg had television, had refrigerators and such (though Sora wondered what powered them. Electricity was rather non-existent.)

And when he asked 'Roxas', whom he later found out, was rather bipolar; he'd merely get the same answer when he asked how the televisions worked, how some people flew over their heads, and how did the rock by the tree _talk._

"It's _that_." Roxas spoke with no sense of humor whatsoever.

And Sora was back to square one on how to comprehend his situation right now.

Sora explained to him the concept of science and electricity. How fluorescent lights worked like the starlights they had here. How electricity powered their televisions and refrigerators. How Sora's world did construction using large cranes, heavy machinery and cement.

Not plant a seed and wait for it overnight to grow into the foundation of a house, and summon the earth to make the walls.

Sora still stared, ogling at the newly constructed house just by the corner.

It was rather strange too, since they had a lot of foreigners before; but Sora was the only one couldn't understand more than one person. Sora insisted he spoke perfect Japanese. Roxas countered everyone he talked to spoke perfect Japanese to him; but everyone he spoke to said his Nuem was perfect.

Sora asked him how that was possible.

"It's _that_." Roxas spoke the word as if it were the explanation to everything.

He had taken him in their family's sweet shop. It was a nice little dink, right smack in the center of the village, facing the town's monument (a single golden wing that was outstretched). Sora had thought it looked almost normal…

The shop looked ordinary. Tables and chairs here and there. A banner outside with the shop's name ("The Keyhole"), and sliding doors that allowed good ventilation for when the shop was too hot. The glass counter outside was empty of the treats it would have displayed on normal days.

"It's a rest day for everyone. We start work tomorrow in here." He answered, as if knowing that curious look Sora had for the emptiness.

Sora carefully inched across the area, poking tables and chairs one by one. He was rather careful now. He didn't want the next thing he sat on to blurt out that it didn't want his ass on their faces. (The rock near the road had courteously pointed that out to him).

"What are you doing?" Roxas peeked from upstairs, curious why the brunet did not follow him. He narrowed his eyes when he noticed the brunet poking around. "Hurry up here. I want you to meet my grandma."

"I'm coming." Sora made for the stairs, following the blond to the second floor. Roxas was already by the door on the far end of the corridor.

"Grandpa is inside." He whispered, like afraid to wake the dead. "He's physically blind, but he'll still see you. You'll know what I mean when you meet him."

"Oh I know." Sora rolled his eyes. "It's _that_, isn't it?"

Roxas smirked, grinning wider. "Well, you're not such a bad egg after all."

The blond carefully slid the door open, revealing a rather disconcerting sight.

There were spears everywhere, in every wall and corner of the room. A single beam of sunlight pierced through the darkness of the room, it's rays falling at the feet of the person who was sitting in a rocking chair at the center of the dark room.

"Wait…ARE THOSE MUSHROOMS?!" Sora harshly whispered, pointing at patches of mushrooms that grew in a circle around the figure in the center.

Roxas turned around, still relaxed. "Don't you have mushrooms where you come from?"

"We do." Sora scratched his head. "But they don't necessarily grow right smack near people's feet."

"Roxas?"

The boy fully slid the door open.

"I'm here grandpa." Roxas answered curtly at the voice. That sure did not sound like someone who was supposedly in his 'old age.'

No sooner had he said those words did the 'grandpa' suddenly tackled Roxas out of the door and into the hallway. The two rolled out in the hallway, dust flying everywhere from their scuffle.

"C'mon here, you little shit head!" The grandpa rough-housed the other boy, who was laughing as he was being assaulted with tickles. "You dare leave your blind, old-man all alone? I'll teach ya something about manners!!"

"Grandpa!" Roxas sniffled between tickles. "There's someone I…giggle…I want you to…haha…meet." He pointed a shaky finger at Sora.

Only when 'Grandpa' faced Sora did the poor boy finally lose himself and ran away from them, from the shop, from the village at full speed.

* * *

_I don't belong here! My home! I want it back! Where am I? How do I get out of here?! I lost my parents, now I lost my home! What NEXT?! AM I GOING TO LOSE MYSELF?!_

These thoughts ran incoherently across Sora's mind, as he darted through thick copses of trees and over bushes as he swept through the forest just as fast as a midsummer gale.

He finally stopped, his legs buckling at the immense stress of running a marathon without stretching. Muscles screamed in agony, Sora could almost hear their cries. They were drowning in their own acid, losing oxygen…losing energy…losing light.

He fell against a shallow puddle of soft mud; Sora's face was smeared by scum and by tears. He didn't care. He was losing everything around him. Might as well lose his sanity and his dignity as well.

"I…sniff…I want to go home…" He finally voiced out his wish, letting go of the frustration that he kept inside for so long ever since he arrived in this mysterious place. Panic and awe were one of the few things he knew wouldn't help him in this situation.

But level-headedness and logic didn't help him one bit at all. It only caused unnecessary stress and friction that made his stay in this place much more hard to bear by every passing minute.

He cried even harder. He didn't have to control himself. No one was here. He was all alone in this forest, wallowing on mud and nothing but self-pity.

He never remembered anything about his childhood save that he was an orphan nobody wanted to take in. He never knew the reason why. Even the social worker who handled his case didn't bat an eyelash at him. The kids at the center didn't socialize with him, kept towards themselves instead. Sora knew his childhood was rather wretched.

That was why he forced himself to grow up so fast. Then maybe he can leave that dreary childhood. Then he could start the life that he wanted. With friends. With family. With people that cared about him and people that he cared about.

Tidus was the first to notice him whenever the blond saw the older boy walk by, carrying a heavy load of groceries. His apartment was a few blocks away from Sora's. It was almost a weekly routine for the blond to take stealthy peeks at the brown-haired boy through their window whenever he would pass by.

Weeks passed by before Tidus finally introduced himself. And Sora was happy. For he never had someone talk to him so openly and willingly. Sora was a year older than Tidus, but age didn't play a role in their budding friendship. That day was also when Sora felt his burden was lighter. Not only because Tidus had taken part of the burden on his groceries, but the blond had taken the burden of loneliness from his heart.

That was how Sora knew the gang that was his circle of friends. Roxas, brother figure of Tidus. Namine, the mother of the circle and Vincent, the stolid father figure to all. They took him in, like how a younger brother takes in an adopted older brother with open arms and a warm, toothy smile.

That was the day when Sora felt the sun had truly shone in his life. That was the day he was thankful for having lived.

But everything slid to darkness when he came here. His friends disappeared into it. His light was overwhelmed by the nothingness that was creeping slowly towards his soul.

He could feel it. Almost feel it. The earth was digging itself around him, almost ready to swallow him. The sensation of falling, getting ready to plunge into a pitfall that never ended. A hole that led to a world that never was, and never will be.

Slowly…

Slowly…

Just a little more and everything will end…

He could feel himself losing air…losing sight…

A nice feeling to let go…

A little more…

Into a world where light cannot pierce…

Where everything would truly disappear…

Memories…soul…heart…

Almost…

Almost…

…

…

…

"MOOMBA!!"

"Gah!" Sora jolted up with a scream, fright reflected in his sky-blue eyes. A rather strong, childish voice boomed around him, drawing him from his melancholy and from his eager desire for a quick death.

Yes…he was asking for death…sweet, maternal death…the embrace of a morbid mother…so dark…so hard and cold and…

"MOOMBA!!"

"GAH!" Sora was jolted up once more, finally standing from where he had lain. Alright, that was just pure irritating. Once, he can forgive. Twice is just foolhardy and annoying.

Just as he was about to retort something nasty as to whoever was disturbing his "alone-time", he was greeted by a red, smallish, three-foot high, lion-cub look alike with a spiky mane, and wild green eyes.

"MOOMBA!!" The creature took a long glance at Sora before it jumped back, clapping its paws and wagging its fire-lit tail. It was dancing and clapping at the same time, cheering "MOOMBA!! MOOMBA!!" over and over again. Sora would have asked him nicely to 'cut it out' when suddenly the bushes around them erupted, revealing more and more creatures that looked similarly like the first one.

The first one, recognizable due to be the only creature with a tail that was lit by fire, led everyone to a bacchanal revelry. Sora could only hear the same word over and over again, but he could feel…ecstasy and rapture in the creature's voices.

The three-minute fiesta finally ended with a pound on the ground and a quick somersault in the air. Everyone regarded Sora quietly, though some of them had a happy twinkle in their eyes. Their mouths weren't visible, as they were overlapped by thick fur in their short snouts, so Sora couldn't know if they were smiling to see him…or smiling because they had food served before them.

"MOOMBA!!" The first one cried, obviously happy at Sora. Sora twitched an eyebrow, waiting for more. But there was an expectant look in the creature's eyes. And it took a minute of silence before Sora realized he was supposed to reply in turn.

"Uhh…M-Moomba?"

The whole forest suddenly exploded into full gear! Sora swore their shouts and cries and tears would be heard miles around. The lot of the creatures was hugging each other, crying into each other's shoulders, jumping lithely and rolling on the ground, playing with each other, knuckling each other, dancing around.

It was very obvious that their source of joy was he, Sora.

The cheers quieted down once more, the forest was as silent as the dead of the night.

The first creature, the one with the flame tail that provided the sole light in the dark forest, swished its tail in a pattern before him.

A circle.

A square.

A diamond.

A circle inside the diamond.

The rough drawing of a flame inside the circle.

And the air exploded in the pattern, and a miniature fireball erupted and hung itself mid-air. The light was strong enough to reveal to Sora there were at least thirty of them surrounding them and it.

"Moombas are happy! You have finally returned!" The creature spoke quite in a rascal-tone. His features were enraptured with joy, but serious at the same time.

"We have waited for so long, everyone of us waited loyally. We did no wrong! We did no wrong!"

Sora stared. Surprised. Stared.

"…w-what?"

"You are master above us!" Sora finally had the name for them, moombas. Figures they kept saying it over and over. "We, who were without form for so long, finally took shape when master has returned!"

Sora was quick to reject this implication. "NO! It must be a mistake! I'm not from here! I'm not from this world!"

Moomba leader cocked his head sideways. "Mistake? NO NO NO NO NO!" He shook his head violently, its spiky mane following suit. "We are wise! We do not make mistakes! We trust! We can be fooled! But we do not make mistakes! We trust our hearts so!"

"We are shadows until now. We remain in this forest for so many years! Suddenly, moombas took body, took color! We became whole! We are hollow no more!"

The leader stalked towards Sora, its tail swishing the fireball idly towards the side.

"We have form. We have touch. We cannot be ignored anymore." It brought its large paw towards Sora's dirty uniform, over Sora's wildly beating heart. The moomba's paws were soft, so soft; adorned by a miniature, blunt claws.

Sora regarded the Moomba before him. It spoke wisely; sagely. And yet those eyes that looked expectantly at him were that of a child, ready to be rejected.

He carefully brought his hand over the moomba's head, combing the spiky mane back, surprised at how soft and silky the turgid spikes were. Their red fur, copper red like drying blood, was soft and downy. Its strong body was nicely shaped, curves reaching downward towards strong hind legs fitted with large hind paws of their own.

The moomba dug its head into Sora's chest so suddenly, surprising Sora a bit. But he recognized the soft nuzzling, a very affectionate gesture.

Hesitantly, gently even…he slid his hands towards the moomba's back and returned the embrace.

The other moombas who stood at the side slowly grew closer, closer, closer; until no space was left for breathing. Sora was happy, albeit suffocating. Everyone loved him, for reasons he did not know. He felt loved, _needed_, once more.

He was happy.

* * *

The boy had spent the night sleeping with the pack of moombas.

Only he and the Moomba with the Fire Tail were awake, Sora unable to sleep, and the other was guarding each one against danger.

"Do you…" Sora broke the glass-like silence. "Do you have a name?"

The moomba was quite happy to answer. "Master asked my name! Moomba is Nanaki!"

Sora smiled gently, fondness in his heart for the moombas growing exponentially by every passing second. "And Nanaki…what are you? I know you are Moombas, but…where did you come from? Who are you? What do you eat? Why are you here? How did you know I was here?"

Nanaki sat up like a cat, tail swishing side to side. "Nanaki is Nanaki, and moombas are moombas. Moombas come from Master's heart. Moombas come from Master's soul. Moombas are Moombas. Moombas eat nut and fish, but Moombas have eaten none for sixty-eight seasons. Hunger came when we took bodies once more. Moombas are here because we felt Master's heart falling into dark."

Nanaki stretched his legs out and fell into the ground, like a cat writhing because it got tangled in a ball of yarn.

"Terrible, terrible feeling! Like…faaaaaaaaaaaaaaalling down and down and down. Drown, drown in dark. So sad and terrible. Like swirly water we followed Master's heart cry."

Nanaki sat up, regarding Sora once more.

"Master must not be sad anymore. Moombas feel Master's pain, far times more terrible. Master's pain will drown us. Master's rage will burn us. Master's darkness will kill all Moombas. That is why Moombas will do their best to keep Master happy."

Sora sat agape, feeling terrible at what he had felt. So they were dying because of him? He did not understand how they were a part of him, but if Nanaki said it was true, then it should be true.

After all, they understood exactly how it felt to wish to die.

"Nanaki? How did I create you?"

The moomba bristled, unsure how to answer.

"Master should know. Moombas only remember being here."

"You…just pop out because I said so?" Sora found it hard and inconceivable.

"Moombas do not know. Nanaki is the oldest, first born among all Moomba. Nanaki only remembers other moombas coming out from dark. From dark, moombas took form. Took body and fur and heart and soul. Moombas are living things. Moombas are moombas!"

Sora grinned at that, a bit proud. "That's right. Keep your chin up and be proud of who you are."

Nanaki whooped. "Moombas are proud race, just like Master! Moombas are Moombas and Master is _JdEaobBdaj_!"

Sora stopped.

"What? What was that name you called me?"

Nanaki cocked his head again, sideways to the right.

"Moombas are moombas and Master is _SoEndHvneI_?"

Sora picked at his ear, the sound of his name was blurred, almost ghostly and murmured. It was scary to hear, but what was wrong? It was like what happened with Roxas and the milkmaid.

"Nanaki, say it with me. Sora."

The moomba scratched its mane.

"It with me. Sora."

Sora asked once more.

"Tell me, what is my name."

"Master's name is _FyElaPaTmoS_."

Sora tried to clear his ear out, but to no avail. He understood every word Nanaki said, but he could not get his name right. Whatever names the moombas would call him.

"Can Master not hear his name?" Nanaki purred worriedly. "Master has doubts in his heart. Master is choosing not to listen to what Master's heart is saying."

Sora glanced sadly at his feet. "Can Nanaki tell me what my heart is saying?"

The moomba slid closer, bringing its lion-like ears towards Sora's beating heart.

"Master…master belongs here. Master's home is here. Master should be here. Master's other home is not real home. Master's duty lies here…Master's – "

"No." Sora cut in rather harshly. "My friends in that place are true, I know it's true! It cannot be a lie! It cannot be – "

He stopped, noticing the moomba suddenly whimpering in pain, clutching its own heart. Its eyes were closed, as if it's body was wracked in convulsions.

"NANAKI!" Sora embraced the poor creature. "Sorry. So sorry! I forgot…so forgetful…please don't be in pain…forgive me…"

The convulsions stopped, weary green eyes opening once more. "M-master's forgiveness heals. Nanaki will be fine. Nanaki is sorry for troubling master…"

"NOO! NO, no…it's…it's okay. Just…try and call me Sora from now on. It is my name now, because I cannot hear my other name. Maybe until the doubts are cleared from my head…until then, just Sora."

Nanaki nodded in his place against Sora's chest. He looked up to Sora's eyes, looking into its depths.

"Nanaki has never seen such eyes of blue. Like bright sky that could kill us before Master arrived. Nanaki sees turmoil and worry in those skies of Master's eyes." It silently shook its head, and dug itself further into Sora's soiled shirt.

Sora nodded softly, as the moomba closed his own eyes, sleeping in Sora's arms.

Once more, confusion fell on him like another layer.

He didn't want to think about anything anymore. Just sleep.

Tomorrow, he'd go back with Roxas to ask for an explanation. Ask for his help to look for someone who would be able to clear the confusion up.

Then maybe…

Maybe, just maybe…

He would finally hear his name from Nanaki's voice.

* * *

A/N: I swear when you look at a Moomba, the first thing that comes to your mind would be Akuseru/Axel. XD See? See? I thought at first that they look like Red XIII's descendants, but now, they look like Axel going through Pride Lands and getting chibified. XD So cuuuuute!


End file.
